IB proven

Woodrow begins fourth year of International Baccalaureate, J.L. Long is on its way

Story by Brittany Nunn | Photo by Danny Fulgencio

In August, Woodrow Wilson High School embarked on its fourth year of being the only public school in Dallas ISD to offer the International Baccalaureate program as one of four college prep academies. And right next door, J. L. Long Middle School is nearing the end of its journey to become designated an official IB Middle Years school.

Woodrow has a new IB coordinator this year, and with three years of experience, the Woodrow staff is feeling good about its fourth year as an IB school, when graduating seniors will have gone all the way through the program.

“It’s going pretty smoothly,” says IB coordinator Kelly Ritchie. “We’ve been addressing some gaps, particularly gaps of communication. I feel like we’ve made really good progress there.”

But it hasn’t always been such smooth sailing for the program. As with anything new, it has taken a while to iron out some of the kinks.

“There have been some growing pains with people getting the hang of what this really is,” says Woodrow’s SBDM chairperson, Susan Schuerger. “We’ve been gearing up, but I think having Kelly here helps, and I think we’re ready for it.”

Before coming to Woodrow, Ritchie worked at Imagine International Academy of North Texas, a charter school in McKinney that teaches IB from kindergarten to graduation.

“IB is highly effective,” she says. “It’s good that Dallas has made this investment in order for Woodrow to offer this, especially as a public school.”

International Bacca-what-a?

The educational system is riddled with acronyms — PTA, SBDM, ADHD, APR, EC. So, if you’ve never bothered to ask, “What is IB?” don’t feel bad; you’re in good company.

“Most people don’t know what it is, or they have a very basic idea,” Ritchie says.

“IB is a program that offers students a curriculum and a framework that allows them to take in information and process it themselves, so we’re teaching a way of thinking. We’re teaching to think versus just filling students up with rogue knowledge. That’s really the core of the program.

“The other piece, of course, is the international-mindedness,” she says, “bringing in awareness about our place in the world, the fact that there is a larger world out there and how to connect to that —what is our role in it? It’s really teaching kids to be proud of who they are and where they come from, but also to extend themselves to learn about other nations, environments and cultures.”

IB does all this through six different learning avenues: language acquisition, studies in language and literature in the first language, individuals and societies (history and geography with a global perspective), mathematics, performing arts and science.

“And it’s set in a background of interconnectedness,” Ritchie says. “Ideally what you’re learning in these subjects will bleed over into the other subjects. It’s intended to be a very holistic approach.”

Woodrow IB students also take Theory of Knowledge, which Ritchie calls the “reward class” because it’s the fun class students can take in the midst of all the work and requirements the IB program entails.

“It’s the class where you really get to sit and converse about big topics,” Ritchie says, “like how do you know what you know? How do you know the facts you’re receiving are truthful and honest? How do we look at statistics and what are the ethics involved in different situations?”

By end of senior year, each student must write a 4,000-word essay, similar to a college thesis on a high school level. Students also have to take a test at the end of the year, which determines whether they receive an IB diploma.

And finally, students also have extracurricular activity requirements. They have to spend time outside of school “doing things they’re passionate about,” Ritchie says.

If the pathway fits

At Woodrow this year there are more than 35 seniors in the IB program, about 80 10th-graders and about 100 ninthgraders.

One of the biggest hurdles Ritchie has had to overcome in her short time as Woodrow’s IB coordinator is communicating to parents and students that, while there are many positive aspects of the program, the requirements and expectations can be sobering for even the brightest student.

The workload is both larger and harder than that of a traditional classroom setting because teachers challenge students on an analytical level, Ritchie says.

“It’s hard. You’re losing sleep and not getting to spend as much time with friends or doing the other things high schoolers enjoy,” Ritchie says. “But that’s what makes it such great college prep,